After an impressive rookie season in the NFL that saw Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs tally nearly 1,300 yards from scrimmage — including 945 on the ground — he is primed to be even better in 2024.
Gibbs has proven to be an explosive threat, both on the ground and through the air, and that has led wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to issue a challenge to the Alabama product.
According to ESPN's Eric Woodyard, St. Brown challenged Gibbs to finish the 2024 campaign with 1,000 rushing and receiving yards. If the running back can accomplish that feat, St. Brown has promised to buy him whatever he wants.
And Gibbs is up for the challenge, saying "I'm gonna break his bank," before adding that he "might get a house" if he can answer St. Brown's challenge.
If Gibbs accomplishes that feat, he would join an exclusive club.
Only three running backs in NFL history have tallied both 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in a single season: Roger Craig with the San Francisco 49ers in 1985, Marshall Faulk with the St. Louis Rams in 1999, and Christian McCaffrey with the Carolina Panthers in 2019.
"I’d like to be in that category," Gibbs said.
Gibbs has proven he is very capable of breaking 1,000 rushing yards, even in a split with fellow back David Montgomery. The second-year back tallied 945 rushing yards in 2023, and that was with him missing two games.
The Lions will have to get Gibbs more involved in the passing game if he wants to break 1,000 yards in the receiving department. However, general manager Brad Holmes has made it clear the team wants to get him more involved there.
“I definitely would expect (Gibbs) to see more of a load, but David Montgomery will still be here, too," Holmes said in May. "I think he’s got much more to offer in the passing game, so most likely you’ll see an increase in that, as well.”
As history has shown us, a running back getting 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in a season is incredibly difficult to do. But if anyone is capable of pulling it off, it's Gibbs.
